


man to man

by krabershot



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Chronic Pain, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, i just want david & dwight to kiss yknow :/
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-03-01 02:18:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18791005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krabershot/pseuds/krabershot
Summary: As they walked through the fog with Kate and Feng, Dwight reached out to brush his hand against David’s. He kept his head forward but saw David’s small smile in his peripheral. He liked that; getting him to break his tough and stoic routine for just a moment.





	man to man

“Are you okay?”

David looked up in surprise before settling back into his usual tough guy frown. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

Dwight’s hand came up to his mouth to tug on his lip; a nervous habit he could never quite shake. “I mean, you did take a few hits last time we were out and you’ve never really let anyone take a close look at you.” Dwight tried to meet David’s eyes but he had looked away. He was on the defence now and Dwight knew it. “I just… wanted to know if you needed anything.”

A pointed silence stretched between them and Dwight sighed. He stood up and made his way over to the other side of the fire to sit on the log beside David. He left his hand upturned to his side, open but not asking. David was still for a moment before sliding his hand down to intertwine with Dwight’s.

“You don’t have to act like such a tough guy with me, you know,” Dwight gave David’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I know you. I care about you… So, talk to me.”

David was quiet and Dwight knew well enough not to push any further. He knew David never liked to talk about how he felt, emotional or physical. It was just that Dwight had started to notice the way David winced when he walked sometimes and how he always took a moment to breathe after they’d spent a little too long crouched beside a generator. David’s hand had a slight shake and Dwight gave it another comfort squeeze. Still there.

“It’s just I’m…. I always fuckin’ hurting. All the time. It’s in my bones and it’s always bloody there and I don’t know what to do about it,” David took in a deep breath and shook his head. “Maybe I got into one too many fights, y’know? Got hit in the head too much. Just seems like my body can’t be arsed anymore.”

Dwight studied David’s face for a moment. “Why didn’t you say anything? We can distribute work differently or we can-”

“I’m not one to fuckin’ mither, okay love?” David shook his head again. “I don’t want no special treatment or anything, okay?”

He was back on the defence and getting irritable so Dwight knew to take a step back. Even though David had been in the fog for such a long time, he was still working on being vulnerable around others. He was okay with Dwight, but once anyone tried to show concern, he would snap shut. “It’s okay. Next time we go, did you want to stick with me?” David opened his mouth, probably to say some bullshit about how he didn’t need anyone’s help, but Dwight cut him off. “I got scared real bad last time and I could appreciate the company.”

David stared Dwight down for a moment before sighing, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. “Yeah, sure. But if you step in another bear trap, I’m leaving you behind.”

Dwight laughed and shoved his shoulder into David’s. “Yeah right, asshole. You can carry me through the exit gates again.”

It was a few days before David and Dwight were pulled back into the arena. As they walked through the fog with Kate and Feng, Dwight reached out to brush his hand against David’s. He kept his head forward but saw David’s small smile in his peripheral. He liked that; getting him to break his tough and stoic routine for just a moment. When the fog cleared, the two of them were standing in the middle of a clearing in an open forest. Rain gently pattered down and Dwight could see a small house in the distance. It was cold and the rain wasn’t helping any. He shivered and pulled the hood of his jumper up. He was grateful he had chosen to wear it. Feng and Kate were nowhere to be seen. Probably already working on generators elsewhere. Dwight really admired Feng’s work ethic. Always determined and hard working.

David’s breathing hitched for a moment and Dwight turned to him in concern. He had gone stock still and his eyes seemed glazed over. “David?” Dwight tentatively reached out a hand to touch David’s arm.

David jumped and grabbed Dwight’s arm, his grip tight like a vice. Pain flashed through his wrist but Dwight didn’t cry out. He opened his hands and dropped his voice to a whisper. “It’s okay. It’s me.”

David blinked and shook his head, letting go of Dwight’s arm. “Sorry,” he said stiffly. “Being here got to me for a second.” He gestured towards a small structure nearby. Dwight could see a fire pit crackle inside and could see meat carcasses hanging from the roof. “The last time I was here.. that rabbit woman. The one that hums that stupid song. She killed me there. Shoved her axe down the centre of my fuckin’ skull.”

“Wasn’t she the one that let Meg go?”

David laughed but there was no joy there. “I don’t think she likes me at all. I don’t give a rat’s ass if she let Meg go. All I think about is how it felt to die like that. Fuckin’ brutal, she was. Sunk that axe in my chest a few times before she sealed the deal.”

The two stood in silence for a moment before a generator popped into life in the distance, flood lights stretching across to illuminate the overgrown house. Dwight could hear someone crying in the distance. The gentle hum of the huntress. David rubbed his hand across his chest for a moment, perhaps feeling the phantom of her axe, before walking away from the clearing to find a generator.

Hours passed and they had finally gotten all the generators done. Everyone was thankfully still alive and Dwight was yet to have an encounter with the masked huntress. He hadn’t seen David in a while, but he had seen Feng making a run for one of the doors. He walked his way over to the house and went inside. He climbed the wooden staircase, the logs creaking under his feet, and wandered out onto the shoddy balcony that wrapped around the outside of the house. He crouched down and peered over the top of the fencing that had been pieced together, trying to see if he could find anyone.

Dwight spotted Kate in the distance, weaving in and out of the trees at full speed. Dwight heard a feral shout and saw a hatchet fly through the air and hit the grass at her feet. Kate was already limping and the huntress was catching up. Dwight climbed over the side of the railing, dropped down onto the grass, and started running towards Kate. Maybe he could work interference or throw a rock the distract her or maybe he could run behind Kate to try and take some of the aggression. A million thought were running through his mind and his heart sank when he saw that Feng was only halfway done getting the door open.

“Hey!”

The huntress stopped and looked around her to track where the shout had come from. David was standing out in the open, his chest rising and falling rapidly. “You remember me, huh? You want me?” Dwight saw the huntress’ mouth pull up into a rabid smile, her eyes flashing in the moonlight, and she lifted a hatched out of her belt. David jogged on the spot for a moment and shook himself before taking off running. The huntress followed and Kate was already forgotten prey.

The door buzzed in the distance and Kate limped towards it. Dwight ran to her and put her arm over his shoulder so he could support her weight. Together they walked to the door where Feng was waiting for them, leaning against one of the walls and drumming her fingers against her thigh. One thing Dwight didn’t admire about Feng was her apathy toward the injured. Dwight helped set Kate down and shrugged off his jumper. He held it out to her and she took it from him, her eyes thankful.

“Wait here for David and me,” he instructed. “You guys are close enough to the exit wall that you can get out if she comes back for you, but I need you guys to stick around for another minute in case we need help.”

There was a loud rumbling and the ground around them shook for a moment. Red light had already started cracking through the floor. David only had about two minutes to get back before the entity got fed up and burst from the ground to drag them out of the arena screaming. Everyone around the campfire had talked about the way the spines snapped out of the ground to wrap around your body, breaking through your chest and twisting you until you broke. A nightmare. Kate met Dwight’s eyes and nodded. Feng just looked bored. Dwight ran back out of the exit and listened for David. He heard a yell of pain nearby and took off running at full speed.

He made it back to that structure David had told him about in time to see the huntress miss a swing on David. She growled and raised her weapon again, swinging it over her head toward David but he threw himself behind a tree and the bloodied axe head thwacked into the wood. It bought him a couple of extra seconds to run as she screamed and yanked it out of the tree trunk. Of all the people they had faced, something about the huntress set Dwight on edge. She was unpredictable, easily irritated, and the brutality almost seemed to excite her in a way that was different from the others. David stopped running for a moment to yell out to her again, but this time he had a wide smile plastered over his face. Almost as if he was just taunting her for fun. A chill ran down Dwight’s back and he chased after David.

The floor around them was almost entirely covered in crackling red and shook with an almighty force. The huntress lined up a hatchet and threw it. It turned head over handle until it almost collided with David’s back. He pulled himself forward in a moment of pure adrenaline and it embedded itself in a tree. Dwight cut him off and grabbed his hand.

“David, we have to go!”

“Dwight?” David looked confused to see him. “You…I thought you would’ve been long gone by now.”

“I wanted to make sure you made it out!”

Dwight tugged David towards the open exit gate and was relieved to see that Feng and Kate were long gone. They made it out the exit just in time to see the huntress make it around the corner. Dwight shivered as he watched her standing there, her eyes shining in the darkness. She lifted a hatchet and threw it towards the two of them. It collided with the entity’s protective wall but Dwight jumped anyway. She laughed at him and the fog rolled over in a wave to take her.

It was a hours before Dwight talked to David. He sat by himself in front of the camp fire, watching the flames move around. Meg tried to sit with him for a while but the air was far too tense so she apologised gently and left him alone. Dwight lifted his glasses to rest on top of his head and looked around to see what everyone was doing. Meg had gone back to Nea and they were sitting wrapped up in each other, keeping warm no doubt. He could see David sitting with Kate. She was still wearing Dwight’s hoodie and the two of them were engaged in a quiet and secret conversation. The world seemed a little too blurry so Dwight sighed and slid his glasses back on. He looked back into the fire and thought about reaching out and touching it. The entity didn’t let them bleed for long before restoring them back to their former health so there wouldn’t be any harm.

“You gonna have a Velma moment?”

Dwight looked up to see David standing above him. Kate was next to him, holding onto the hoodie. She held it out for Dwight to take and gave a gentle thanks before wandering away to find Jake. “Am I going to what?”

“Have a Velma moment. Y’know? Scooby Doo? Always losing her glasses, even if they’re on her head?” David shook his head and sat down on the log next to Dwight. “It’s a stupid joke. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

Dwight was quiet for a moment before turning to David. “What the hell happened out there? And don’t act surprised, David. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Going after the rabbit lady, guns blazing. Yelling at her like you didn’t care if you lived or died. You looked like you were enjoying running her around.”

David’s were wide as he studied Dwight’s face for a moment. “I didn’t think anyone would bloody care if I died in there. Especially not when we always come back and-”

“I care! I fucking care!” David jumped at the sudden unexpected curse from the usually clean-mouthed Dwight. “I care if you live or die, you stupid oaf. And we don’t know if you always come back! What if one day you antagonize one of those monsters and you get killed and then you don’t come back and you’re just gone forever? That thought terrifies me, David. I love you.” Dwight let out a shuddering breath and tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill out. He hadn’t meant to say that last part.

David was silent. Everyone in the area were quiet, trying to act like they couldn’t hear what was happening. There was little to no privacy in the centre of the camp fire. “I didn’t know you felt like that. I’m sorry, mate.”

Dwight choked out a laugh, the tears falling down his cheeks. “I just told you I loved you for the first time and you call me mate.” David tried to stutter out an apology but Dwight waved it off. “No, don’t apologise. I love it. It’s very…you.”

David reached out his hand to wrap around Dwight’s. “I’m sorry. I just got so frustrated when I couldn’t help Kate out with the generators because of how fucked my knee was. I guess I just lashed out,” he ran his thumb across Dwight’s hand, comforting him. “I didn’t mean for it to get so damn out of hand. It was like I was back in those fuckin’ bar brawls and I had to fight back to prove myself.”

Dwight sniffed and pulled his glasses up to wipe his face with the hoodie in his lap. “I’m sorry I said I love you.”

David let go of Dwight’s hand and pulled him in close, kissing his head. “You don’t need to apologise for that, love. I might be a big stupid oaf but I’ve still got feelings sometimes.” He ruffled his hand through Dwight’s hair. “And most of them are for you.”

“Most? Do I have to worry about Kate?” Dwight joked.

“Nah…Kate is great through. Have you ever listened to her play on her guitar? Like a country angel sent from Nashville,” David smiled and leant his head on Dwight’s. “She also knows how I feel. She’s been talking with me about all my pain bullshit and she says she goes through somethin’ similar. Called it chronic pain. So, she’s been telling me about that. Oh, and she’s been playing me my favourite country songs.”

Dwight rolled his eyes. “I’ll have to come and sit with you guys sometime.”

“Yeah, you fuckin’ do. I’ve gotta show you off sometime, y’know.”

Dwight closed his eyes and pulled himself even closer to David. “Hm.. I like the sound of that.”

**Author's Note:**

> one day ill write more than 2k words... one day
> 
> also i didnt know what to call this fic so i named it after  this rly good dorian electra song  please listen to it


End file.
